I Became an Apocalyptic "Physical" Therapist (24)
Dr. Woo
"That's a record, boss. You're the first person ever to get a contract out of the Shelter Director himself."
Sapiens shook his head slowly as he pored over the contract.
"Good enough for you, no? Worth passing your contact list around, don't you think?"
"I'd pass it around as much as you want even without that, boss. You only have to ask."
"But?"
"But what you actually want is the Named, doesn't it? That tier doesn't move easily, even for a contract backed by a Shelter Director. They've already got their hands full as it is."
"Which is why I'm adding one more condition."
"……?"
"Just for attending the presentation, one Gold Coin each."
"What in the……"
"They don't have to take the case. Attendance only, and the coin's theirs. Every Named sitting on their hands will show up for that."
"I doubt there are that many Named just lazing around, boss."
"They'd come even with packed schedules."
"I really don't think so."
"Wanna bet? Named have always loved coasting through life."
"Director Gong, though—if you gather all of them under one roof, isn't that asking for a disaster? Those are the types with personalities so foul they only travel alone or in tiny crews, and…… you sure that's fine?"
"What, you think if you put Named in the same room they'll start murdering each other?"
"Their personalities are, uh…… not exactly normal."
"That's naive. Being Named means being that good. Why would they fight each other?"
"Grudges, maybe……"
"A-ranks don't do the kind of things that create grudges. Why would they, when picking one up is an express ticket to the worst floors of hell? Making enemies with just anyone is what the lower tiers do."
"……"
"……"
At that, Sanghae and Sapiens both stared dead at Gong Won-goo.
Because the person standing right in front of them was, as far as they could tell, the one who made the most enemies with just anyone.
"What are you all staring at?"
"Well, it's still true that the Named are an eccentric lot."
"That's not a strange personality, Sanghae—that's a strong character. Learn the difference."
"I think you're being too complacent, Director Gong. One wrong move and we could be seeing blood spilled right here again. We should vet the invitation list and……"
"Send it to all of them, then. You want to make it a real bet? When the Named gather, does blade-work break out or not? A-ranks don't make easy targets of one another. Sure, there are exceptions. Some bastard with phenomenal skill who runs around doing insane things. But bastards like that die before they ever reach A-rank. That's how this world works."
With that, Gong Won-goo briefed Sanghae and Sapiens on the finer details of the plan.
Meanwhile the crew sat at a separate table, quietly listening in on the conversation.
"Um, excuse me."
Jeon Hye-ji tugged lightly at Mu Beob-sa's sleeve.
"What is it?"
"Those…… the Named, they're a kind of freelancer, right?"
"That would be the correct way to look at it."
"Ah……"
At that, Jeon Hye-ji thought of Il-chul. Strictly speaking, he, too, could be called a freelancer.
"There are two kinds of freelancers, you see. One kind does mostly odd jobs. The other kind is so exceptional they could survive entirely on their own. The Named are the ones I'm talking about."
"I see. Then it'd be hard to call anyone attached to a gang or syndicate a Named?"
"In a world where every extra mouth is that much harder to feed, if you're capable enough, going solo is simply more comfortable."
"I see."
"That said, there are occasional cases of Named running organizations of their own."
"Really?"
"Aren't you part of one yourself?"
"……?"
"Director Gong. Director Gong was a Named with a reputation long before he built this agency. Even now, you could say he'd have no trouble at all living on his own."
"Then should we call Abal too?"
Sapiens asked.
"Abal's excluded."
"You said invite everyone."
"No. Abal's a no. Excluded."
At his flat, unhesitating headshake, Sanghae and Sapiens snickered under their breath.
"Well, we haven't seen her lately anyway. Probably moved away."
"There's a decent chance she's dead, too."
"Abal? You think?"
"She lasted longer than most. Abal is exactly the case I described—died before reaching A-rank. Now is everyone getting the picture?"
The two of them nodded.
"Anyway, if you understand, then get those invitations out fast. This case is big. If you both cooperate well, I'll see you're compensated accordingly. I expect you to be proactive."
With that, Won-goo rose from his seat.
"Where are you going?"
"To see Dr. Woo."
"That doesn't strike me as a good idea."
"Why not?"
"Do we really need to stir things up any further at this point?"
"Is visiting Dr. Woo something worth this much worrying? I'm going to talk. A conversation. A chat."
"That's exactly the problem—your chats never stay chats."
"Why are you blaming me for that? I'm off."
Watching Won-goo's retreating back, Sapiens and Sanghae felt their wonder renewed.
No matter how they looked at it, he seemed like the kind of man who'd have booked the first ticket to hell—yet somehow, the ticket just never got punched.
"So this is a genuine, top-secret secret. You all saw what I witnessed firsthand, right in front of that execution show, right?"
Il-chul sat at one of the plaza tables, drinking beer. Until only recently, it had been the very spot where Won-goo had beaten him black and blue.
Beside him sat the friends who'd been thrashed alongside him that day, all eyes fixed on Il-chul's flapping mouth.
"We know. We saw it with you. Who'd mistake him for a fish beastman, right?"
"Right. But after the smoke bomb went off? Who knows. Did you see? I'm telling you I saw it firsthand. That vicious radish-belly's blade came slicing down in one clean stroke, and he blocked it. With a spear! A spear!"
"And then?"
"And then he missed the last one. So off came the head, just like that. And then he went and turned himself into a Dullahan, I swear."
"Wasn't it Dulla-han?"
"Dulla-han. Head and body operating separately—hence, Dulla-han. You dense bastard. Put some letters in your frontal lobe, seriously. You can't even write your own name in hanja, that's why."
"Dulla-han was in hanja?"
"Yes. Ignorant bastard. Anyway…… ugh, this guy, his mac-cutting is honestly! You don't even know what a frontal lobe is."
"Calm down, calm down. It's not like it's been a day or two, right? So what happened after?"
"Once you're a Dulla-han, that's the end, no? Obviously. But who am I? A man of loyalty. Il-chul, that's who. Sure, we met on ugly terms, but I couldn't just look the other way. I dove to catch the head before it hit the ground and hoisted the whole body up. Blood spraying everywhere like a sprinkler, and I ignored it and flat-out sprinted. You know Broker Sanghae's place? The one only the real high rollers frequent?"
"We know."
"Just anyone can't get in there."
"And I knew that's where the Director usually holds court. So I ran. Holding the head back over my shoulder so it wouldn't drop, carrying the body with one arm. Try sprinting in that posture without face-planting—it's not easy."
"So? Did you save him?"
"No, you f—…… I told you he became a Dulla-han. Save him into what? Stop talking nonsense!"
"Wait, so you didn't save him? You just carried him somewhere?"
"Ugh……"
"You bastards…… do you even realize how much that……"
Mid-sentence, the color drained from Il-chul's face. Someone had entered his field of vision.
Someone he knew well—but also someone who should absolutely not have been out and about like this.
Seeing Il-chul's reaction, his two friends turned to look at the same place.
"Hey! That's…… the Sapa gang……"
"F—, how many times have I told you not to call them a gang? It's a service agency. Service agency."
"No, that's not the point—the guy Il-chul was just babbling about? He's right there, alive?"
"……"
Il-chul's mouth hung open, words failing him entirely, while his friends frowned.
"Stop drinking yourself stupid."
"No! I saw it! I saw it clearly! Him turning into a Dulla-han, clear as day……"
"Nice story. Absolute bullshitter, this guy."
"No, seriously……"
Confused as they all were, Il-chul and his crew had no choice but to snap to attention.
Because the place Won-goo's Services had just arrived at was a spot that demanded caution.
The site where Youngjae Pharmacy had once stood.
The place now undergoing extensive renovation to house Dr. Woo's pharmacy.
As Won-goo's crew came to a halt in front of it, every eye in the plaza turned their way.
Word traveled fast. The news that Dr. Woo had acquired Youngjae Pharmacy had already spread, and so had the fact that Won-goo had hauled in the pharmacy's surviving members.
The meeting of Dr. Woo's family and Won-goo's Services.
In Shelter Sabbath, at the very least, neither was a force the other could afford to ignore.
The moment Won-goo's crew arrived at the old pharmacy site, Dr. Woo stepped forward as if he'd been waiting for exactly this.
"Master Woo. Business must be booming these days, hm? Acquiring entire pharmacies now. A pharmacy's not exactly a business just anyone can run, you know?"
"Your mouth's been ruining moods since the day you were born, hasn't it. Well, what's a busy man like yourself doing all the way down here?"
"You know full well why I'm here. While everyone else in the shelter is busting their humps over the big incident, you slurped up the whole yolk in one gulp? Is that how it works? That's awfully short on business ethics, no?"
"Director Gong's always lived and breathed his business ethics, I'll grant. But my office staff come first for me, see."
"First, my ass. They all look hollow-eyed and dead inside—not a shred of life in them."
Won-goo said this while glancing at the employees standing behind Dr. Woo. At that, Dr. Woo's eyebrows went flat and straight.
Even so, his mouth held its smile.
"So is business ethics all you came to preach?"
"No. If there was a problem with the contract, then a businessman should know how to bite back, shouldn't he?"
"Is chewing through a contract an easy thing in this line of work? In all my years I've never once seen it done?"
"Right. It's difficult, just like you say, Master Woo. So let me make you an offer."
"What offer?"
"The Trainer's family—they bled for this pharmacy business of yours. You cover their shelter fees, Dr. Woo. With Youngjae Pharmacy's income, that's more than doable."
"A genuinely tragic affair, I'll admit. But what I can't fathom is why we should be the ones to bear it. Did we work the Trainer to death? If my folk had done the job, there wouldn't have been so much as a corpse left to find?"
Dr. Woo came out sharp and prickly.
Won-goo had expected as much, and didn't so much as twitch.
"So you won't pay?"
"There's no need to pay. It wasn't our doing. We bought the place fair and square with proper money. If you're suspicious, investigate all you like."
"So you're saying we go by the contract?"
"Or would you rather settle things outside the shelter? If so, keep one thing in mind. Plenty of eyes are watching Director Gong. Stand in the way of a legitimate contract, and you'd best remember the wind can cut hard the other way."
"My, my…… Master Woo. So now you've learned to threaten people in return. Business must be treating you well."
"A contract is a contract. That's all I have to say on the matter."
"Fine. A contract is a contract. I won't touch that contract any further. Though I have to say—I'm a little disappointed."
"Disappointed or not, a contract is a contract."
Won-goo turned away without hearing another word.
Then Mu Beob-sa quickly spoke up.
"Is it acceptable to simply walk away like this?"
"Didn't you hear him? A contract is a contract. So we'll have to use a different method."
"Boss, is this going to be like with Poke……"
"Hyun-seong. Poke and Dr. Woo are different. With Poke, we had justification—so going feral was fine. This time, Dr. Woo holds the hilt of the sword too. So no, the stupid way won't work."
"Then……"
"If stupid won't do it, we go smart. Look over there. Yang-eok—no, wait, Il-chul!"
Despite being called from far away, Il-chul came sprinting over at tremendous speed.
"Yes, Director!"
"You're growing your hair out, right?"
"That's right. Planning to keep growing it from here on."
"I'm not forcing a hairstyle on you. Just know that your big brother here hates a bald mountain. That's all you need to remember."
"Of course. I figure I'll grow it out and get a drop cut while I'm at it."
"Good. Handle yourself well, so your life doesn't take a drop of its own."
"Absolutely, sir. After receiving the Director's treatment, my life changed completely."
"Glad the therapy worked out for you, Il-chul. I've got a job for you."
"A job?"
"Your friends can help too. None of you are busy, right?"
"Uh……"
"It's simple work. The pay's decent, too. You saw how stingy your big brother is, didn't you?"
"Of course not. Not at all. But this simple work, it's……"
"Truly simple. See this Youngjae Pharmacy here? You stand right there holding a sign. And the sign says: 'This establishment is operated by Cheonmok.'"